I awoke at sunrise. My eyes were foggy and my body ached as though I slept on a piece of plywood. I must get a new mattress, which I been procrastinating for the past few months but not today. I reached over to other side of the bed and discovered it empty.

"Kyle." Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I stood up while draping a velvet robe around me that he gave me for our eighth wedding anniversary. I remembered my eyes gleaming when my hands grasped from its pockets a pair of sparkling diamond earrings and a white rose. He always remembered my favorite flower.

"Honey not today," I sneered. "We have too much to do."

Our lawyer exquisitely wanted our promptness at nine. Then, tardiness to my mother's luncheon would easily inoculate her with a frown and put her in a bitchy mood for the remainder of our visit.

"Sweetheart, we have little time for surprises." My eyes glanced at each room while venturing down the hall.

Kyle loved playing surprises. On my thirtieth birthday, he blindfolded me as we flew to New York to see my first Broadway play.

I stepped into the kitchen with my blood pressure escalating. "Game time is over," I snapped, as my eyes observed an empty coffeepot. Damn, he couldn't even brew a pot of coffee. Maybe, he went for coffee and donuts. He is so thoughtful. Sometime ago, he insisted I take gun lessons after a rash of neighborhood burglaries. Reluctantly, I took them and the gun lay in my closet ever since.

I called his cell phone, without any response.

I decided to unruffled my displeasure by submerging into a tub of tepid water, hoping his arrival would come sooner than the completion of my bath. Unfortunately, he remained absent. I slipped into a pair of dark jeans and a red sweater with a V-shape neckline. Leaving a cloud of perfume in the back of my apartment, as I slammed the door and began my search for Kyle.

I walked to the park where Kyle started jogging during the past two weeks before going to work.

I saw my elderly neighbor, Mrs. Gill, sitting on a park bench, feeding the pigeons.

"Have you seen Kyle?

She shook her head.

I continued through the park and felt my cheeks burning as I pulled out my cell. It went to voice mail where Kyle concluded by telling everyone to have a nice day.

"I would, idiot, if you picked up the freak-in phone." Disgustedly, I jammed my phone into my jean's pocket and rambled though the crowd. I saw Kyle's friend, Martin and went to him.

"Have you seen my husband?


"Not for two weeks." His eyes lit up with curiosity.

I gave an idle excuse of summoning my husband then walked away while my face tightened into something mean and ugly.

I walked endlessly, searching for answers that only my husband could answer. Without realizing, I stood in front a coffee shop where I saw a colleague from Kyle's work. I walked into the shop.

"Hello Steve." I tapped him on the shoulder. Cordially, I asked him about the welfare of his family. I talked casually before getting to the core of my visit. "Have you seen Kyle?"

He sipped his coffee, lay the cup on the counter. "Not since the lay-off." He wiped his lips with his napkin.

My cheeks flushed from embarrassment. "I'm sorry, when were you laid-off?"

"Kyle was laid-off." He dubiously gazed at me.

His words shattered my mind. A sharp pain bludgeoned my stomach.

"I thought you knew." He tried consoling me, looking stunned.

I shook my head and ran. The avalanche of tears streamed down my cheeks. I treaded down the crowded avenue with grief coiling inside me. I now found it true that a wife is last to know. Maybe, I pushed him too hard, wanted everything at once. We could cancel the lawyer's appointment. I did not need that condominium in Florida. I just wanted Kyle.

Time slipped away. I caught a glimpse of the clear sky as sundown came near. I even saw a broken moon behind thin swirling clouds. I should go home, hoping Kyle would be there. He needs assurance of my love. We will conquer this together.

Feeling exhausted, I hailed a cab. I became startled stepping into the vehicle. "Wait here," I said to the driver. Crossing the street, my imagination had flurried but peering through the window of the restaurant, reality crushed me like a rock.

The waiter escorted the couple behind the curtain in the back. Through another window, they sat in a booth with Kyle's lips pressed against hers.

My eyes swelled with fury as my hands clenched. A pain deepened inside me like grains of salt tearing into wounded flesh.

In the cab, I wondered if the pain and anger would ever stop. When I arrived home a frenzy thought occurred to finally use my gun.